Debby Yoder, Contributor

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Made in America

Posted by Deirdre Oakley, THE BALTIC REGION-- Concerns about the U.S. trade deficit have been swirling around since deindustrialization began in the 1950s, and perhaps felt more acutely since the more recent passage of NAFTA in 1994. Today many people believe that the already embattled manufacturing label Made in America is on its last legs. But there are still products made in America -- and symbols of Made in America continue to permeate every part of the world, even though they do not necessarily help the domestic economy.Perhaps fast food chains are the most notable. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article there are now 32,737 McDonalds and 33,449 Subways worldwide, with Starbucks not too far behind. There are many other symbols as well. During a recent trip to the Baltic Region, I saw McDonalds, Subways, and other more surprising symbols of Made in America -- some of which probably were really made here.

Gdansk, Poland

Riga, Latvia

Stockholm, Sweden

Tallin, Estonia

St. Petersburg, Russia

Well...I had to bring my Hummer with me! Actually, unknown Hummer in St. Peterburg.

Deirdre Oakley is the Editor of Social Shutter and an Associate Professor of Sociology at Georgia State University. She can be reached at doakley1@gsu.edu.﻿

Search This Blog

Translate

Social Shutter is an independent venue for submitted works with no official affiliation with Georgia State University. All authors retain the rights to their original works and Social Shutter is not liable for the content.